


Of Crimson Waters

by lyraelights



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Nohara Rin, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Have Issues (Naruto), F/M, Love Triangles, Nohara Rin Lives, Secret Identity, Spy!Rin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:47:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26176711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyraelights/pseuds/lyraelights
Summary: When Akane Yamashita assumed her cover as Rin Nohara, she never anticipated her  team to consist of a crybaby and a smol angry prodigy.In which: Kakashi and Obito learn that their teammate is a ruthless spy and Rin Nohara has a badass backstory. It’s not the love story of the century, but it is the most convoluted inter-village relationship to come out of the war.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Nohara Rin, Hatake Kakashi/Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi/Original Character/Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 20
Kudos: 55





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So this was born because it really bothers me that Obito and Kakashi have such crazy arcs and narratives that basically all revolve around Rin Nohara and yet Rin's personality is as dull as a sheet of white paper. Where is her badass/super tragic/complicated backstory? This is also because her personality bothers me....no one is that sweet or nice without hiding some sorta crazy. AKA my brain thought of how Rin is actually a spy. 
> 
> Special shout-out to WDW's "Duplicity" on Ffn.net that was the inspiration for this work. :D

* * *

_Rin Nohara wakes to a world of white._

_There is an IV drip attached to her arm. A heart monitor is beeping in the background. She can't remember anything, and her entire body aches. She breathes heavily, fumbling with the oxygen mask over her face. A nurse flutters in, beaming when she sees her awake._

_"How are you feeling sweetie?" she asks, checking the girl's vitals. She hands a cup of water, and Rin drinks gratefully._

_"Where-where are my parents?" Rin is wide-eyed and trembling, grasping at her bedsheets. She remembers traveling to Konoha with her family before the cavern roof was ripped off. Ripped off like her mother's head, and her father's dead body. Blood on swords and madmen grinning. The stench of death._

_She curls herself into a ball, shaking. The nurse leans over her, and Rin clutches for support. Someone is screaming like an animal. She can't figure out who is screaming. When the nurse tightens her hold, she realizes it is her. She is screaming. She is the one sounding like a dying animal because she watched her parents killed. Her parents are dead. She is scared and her chest hurts. Her head aches and she remembers the bandits pulling her hair and she just can't stop screaming._

_A prick of the needle. Everything goes dark._

_~_

_When she awakens, a ninja stands in front of her. Brown hair carelessly tousled and matching crinkled brown eyes. The Konoha headband hangs from his neck. His posture is relaxed and non-threatening._

_"Hello Rin-chan," he raises his hands like approaching a wounded animal. For intents and purposes, she is a wounded animal._

_She blushes and hides behind her bangs, embarrassed with her earlier outburst. He chuckles and sits next to her bed. The ninja begins asking questions, and Rin doesn't understand why he is here until he gets to her Konoha citizenship._

_"Rin," his eyes uncharacteristically solemn, "your parents have filed for Konoha citizenship and were accepted. By our paperwork, you are still a Konoha citizen, but we want to know...do you want to stay here?"_

_Rin doesn't know what she wants. She doesn't want to to go back home because home is where her family was. There is nothing to go back to._

_Her eyes begin to tear up again, "I don't know," she asks timidly, "Where can I go? What's going to happen to me?"_

_The chunnin pats her back soothingly._

_"We have a foster-care system for civilians, you're too young to live on your own. If you want," he whispers conspiratorially, "you can even become a shinobi."_

_"Really," she says in awe, "you'll let me be a shinobi?" Shinobi were cool. Konoha ninja were even cooler. The ninja-Saki-is really nice, and her nurse is really nice too. Konoha must be a good place since they sent ninja to rescue her._

_He grins, "Yeah. It's going to be hard work…" He tilts his head to look at her, "but I think you can do it."_

_She nods, pleased that something is going right._

_They go over attending ninja academy. She doesn't have money for schooling and supplies, so Konoha will give her loans. She can pay it off later, Saki waves off the numbers. Ninjas earn a lot of money. She should be able to pay off quickly. Rin doesn't understand half the stuff she is signing, but she is seven and wants to be a ninja. Ninja are grown up._

_Akane Yamashita, infiltration specialist, constructed Rin to be cannon fodder for the upcoming war. She is young, idealistic, and naïve. Rin Nohara wants to become a medic-nin to save lives-to defend and heal those unable to protect themselves. She believes in the Will of Fire, chants her nindo under her breath each time before battle. She supports her team mates while blending into the scenery. Rin Nohara is the background cheerleader quietly supporting from the sidelines, unobtrusive but not quite useless. She is forgettable._

_She is saccharine sweet when sliding a knife in between your ribs._


	2. (In which Akane Yamashita survives)

* * *

It is a city forged in blood and water.

Imposing mountains under a heavy mist, a city near the sea, with murky waters all around. It is a city in gray and blue, built on the slopes of stone climbing from the edge of the ocean. Proud azure flags hang around the village. The village flushes out the weak through bloodshed while they promote the strongest. Kirigakure is one of the strongest villages in the world, if not the strongest.

Akane Yamashita was born with a sharp awareness. She is clanless with no visible kekkai genka and her appearance unremarkable except for two purple slashes across her cheeks. Overall, a sweet and friendly girl with a surprising fire affinity and an expected affinity for water. Her academy instructors pay no attention to her. She is talented but weak and too kind hearted—yielding too often in spars and unable to take a hit. She is an orphan and clanless. There is no familial support or extra jutsu practice to sharpen her. There is no will to become a shinobi. There is nothing but foolish naivety of a child.

Keeping her head down, she wants nothing to do with shinobi and murder. But the tradition/rule/excuse of dealing with orphans is shoving them into ninja academy. They use her as cannon fodder, a stepping stone for the more capable, practice for the more capable to trample on the weak and kill them.

Her first day, the back of her hands are shredded. The clan students laugh at her pitifulness, her inability to do katas. After academy is over, the students trail out onto the streets.

It is not the clan students, but the orphans that find her.

_You make us look weak. Sickening. Weak. Gonna beat it out of you. Grow up._

When she flops to the side she tries to use medical ninjutsu to stitch up her wounds, she makes a mistake, being inexperienced, and passes out.

They say she is stupid. The academy instructors are not impressed with her.

_Weak._

She tries harder in class, but the orphans and clan students still pick on her. Cornered enough times, beaten enough times, flinching enough times, a part of her dies. A part of her emotions die, and she feels dead. Hollow.

One day, when some genin tries to push her around, she snaps.

When the rage subsides, Mitsu-sensei is next to her. The other academy instructors are surrounded an uneven lump of red. He grins at her, all sharp teeth and crazy eyes.

"You're learning. There's hope for you yet"

The genin is not dead - he's crippled. Can't fight, can't walk, can't be a ninja no more. He can still eat, talk, cry. For ninjas, it's fate worse then death. The nurses find him hanging in his room. Good riddance they said. People leave her alone after that.

She keeps her head down.

~

Typically, graduation exam is harsh, but they are at war and cannot afford to kill too many with a Battle Royale for the entire class. Teams of ninja are in shortage, they are all supposed to all graduate. She continues to keep her head down and scores slightly below average because if she is too intelligent—too good, they will send her to the front lines.

And at night, if she practices her chakra control and simple medical ninjutsu in preparation to save herself, no one has to know.

Graduation rolls around, and she tries even harder to remain insignificant. On some bleak day the Mizukage declares that strength and purity is more important then numbers.

The rules change.

Their instructors take them to a cesspool, a forsaken island with enough pollution to kill them all. Some were smart enough to bring weapons wherever they go. Those with kekkai genaki would always have weapons. Technically, all of them have weapons. In the end, a body is a weapon, too. The instructors tell them that supplies are scattered across the place. Last one standing goes home. It's up to them to survive.

Mitsu-sensei bares his teeth and whispers into her ear:

_Don't hesitate._

When left alone, her classmates look at each other wearily. No one is moving. They are watching, waiting for something. Akane's heart quickens. She has no friends, she thinks, watching some students band together in groups. She is alone.

A boy from the Yuki clan, flicks a senbon at the dead last. Easy pickings.

_Chaos._

~

She crouches in a muddy trench, the mist veiling her quietly, and one hand pressed across her stomach. A stench soaks the air, drawing the fear out of every thump of life across the grounds. Akane hides, desperately afraid and shivering quietly. Her pulse races like the fluttering of a dragonfly before the storm.

A snap of bone echoes and a girl—Nanami? screams—Akane clenches her teeth.

_I don't want to die._

The sky seeps with evening and the cold falls like stone, in one swoop with no time to adjust. It digs into her, the numbness and she pushes her crimson fingers inside a jacket. She breathes quietly, eyes flickering across the mist.

Whistling pierces the air, a sharp kunai flies out. She twists from her spot and returns kunai. It hits someone behind her—oh God how did I not see them—a returning kunai stabs her leg. There is an explosion of blood and dirt. Another exploding tag, there is a severed hand and another spray of crimson and the girl behind her screams, the blood and a boy's grotesque smile and ohgodliveliveliveliveIwanttoliveIWANTTOLIV—

Kunai pierces flesh, the boys' eyes widen in surprise. Everything else becomes a blur of red.

Night falls and the moonlight pours over the training ground.

She leans back on a tree, sharpening her kunai.

here is a numbness coursing through her veins even after throwing up. As she absent mindedly sharpens her kunai she wonders about her soul.

She spies one of her classmates, it's the Yuki boy. He's scanning the scenery, fingering his senbons in anticipation.

She thinks of Mitsu-sensei.

She doesn't hesitate.

~

When the academy instructors come to collect the survivor, they find Akane Yamashita alive with only a poisoned senbon in her leg.

At four, she becomes a genin.

Akane becomes her namesake-brilliant red. A little girl who sprayed brilliant red in the Village of Bloody Mist.

Her age is a boon so they slate her to learns infiltration.

~

She wears herself out through identities and missions. Her first mission was as a merchant's daughter, stealing gold and priceless scrolls for a rival merchant cavern. She becomes a servant later, picking up tiblets of information before assassinating her supposed employer. At one point she becomes a maiko, a child apprentice geisha. Swathed in finery and overindulgence she enjoys the luxury for a few months.

Behind screened doors, she watches women moan and arch their back. She watches the way they become breathless. It's a curious thing, when they are touched in certain ways, they say certain things.

_Please. More. Harder._

Those are the ones that get paid more.

When letting down Kiichi-san's hair, the geisha talks freely. Kiichi thinks she is a child, and won't understand, making her words flow more freely. Sometimes, Akane thinks Kiichii knows she isn't just a child, and tries to teach her things. Geisha training translates into ninja training.

"Men like it," she explains, "when they think they are in control. They like to come up with ideas, be the one to solve problems."

Akane says nothing, merely brushes her long ebony hair.

"The key is to make them think it's their idea, to plant and nurture ideas in their head" she lights a pipe on fire, breathing the smoke in heavily.

Akira, the name Akane is currently going by, asks curiously, "How do you do it?"

Kiichi is silent.

"Look weak. Vulnerable. Men have different tastes, but all of their interests become piqued when a women is down."

Akane thinks long and hard about what the geisha says.

When her senpai returns from a particularly violent customer, she diligently tends to the welts and bruises. As she applies the salve, she enacts her plan.

"Kiichi-san," she begins hesitantly, voice trembling purposely, "will you teach me?"

The geisha laughs, shocking Akane.

"That was a pathetic attempt, brat"

With a strength Akane didn't know Kiichi had, the geisha pulled harshly on her hair. Eyes flinty, and mouth pressed into a hard line, Kiichi peered down questioning at Akane.

"Why?"

Akane could have lied, said she wanted to become like her senpai, become the best geisha ever. Instead, she tells the truth.

"To survive"

And that was how they began her training.

* * *


	3. (In Which Akane Learns)

Kiichi trains her, but not the way Akane expects. The geisha does not teach her how to arch her back or how to moan. When Akane asks why she isn’t learning any money making moves, Kiichi slaps her across the face.

“I am not a cheap whore working in a dirty alleyway, spreading my legs for money. I am a geisha.”

 _Is there a difference?_ Akane interallly wonders. Fundamentally, they seem to do the same thing. Entertain a man.

Kiichi snarls at Akane’s contorted face.

“You think a man would pay a thousand times more for a geisha without a reason? Use your brain, you stupid girl. A geisha is more. She must be educated at the highest level of conversation, music, dance. She has to be educated enough to seduce a rich man away from an equally educated wife.”

So no, Kiichi does not teach her the arts of the bedroom.

Instead, she teaches her seduction.

Kiichi teaches her how to make faces. How to look innocent, pure, embarrassed. How to seduce a man with just wetted lips and a flash of teeth. Kiichi says she is too young for certain look. Looks of heated lust, fervent desperation and carnal desire are more likely to scare a man than seduce him when one is still nine years old. Still, Kiichi teaches these looks to her anyway.

Akane learns to pour tea gracefully, seductively, or teasingly. Gracefully came with smooth movements. Seductively meant looking through one’s eyelashes, Teasingly meant revealing pale flesh. Apparently, all of these things ignited a man differently.

She learns how to catch a man’s gaze and blush on command.

And most importantly, she learns how to keep a man’s gaze.

~

When the months pass, another older maiko girl comes to serve Kiichi. Her name is Mai, a vivacious red headed blue eyed girl. Mai confronts Akane in one of the private rooms.

“Is something wrong?” Akane asks

Mai gestures with her hands the Kiri code.

_You’ve been recalled._

Akane sighs in dismay.

Life here has been cushy surrounded by such finery and overindulgence. It’s her most comfortable position by far, learning the feminine arts while being swathed in luxury. She knew that her position here was meant to train her in the seduction corp, so she anticipated it being a long almost permanent position. It looks like the older kunoichi“Mai” would be taking her cushy job.

The night she’s about to leave, she seeks out Mai sleeping in another room.

When Akane’s body hovers hesitantly over Mai’s body, Mai’s eyes snap open. Knife against Akane’s neck, Mai whispers.

“Did you think you’d get the drop on me?”

A bead of blood from Akane’s neck falls. It lands on Mai’s face, the red a stark contrast against her pale face.

“No,” Akane hisses, “I just wanted to know your name before I left.”

“There’s a reason why infiltration agents are kept secret from each other. It’s so we don’t accidentally blow someone else’s cover.” Mai retorts

“I--I don’t know any other Kiri-nin. I’ve only ever been on solo infiltration missions since graduating.”

Mai considers this, and moves the knife away from Akane’s neck.

“My real name is Mei. Mei Terumi”

Akane nods, and shares her own name back. When she turns to leave the room, Mei grabs her arm.

“You need to be careful,” she begins, “especially if you haven’t been placed on a jonin team or ran any missions with anybody else.”

Akane is painfully aware of this fact. She was never supposed to survive her graduation, never supposed to survive her suicide missions. She's living on borrowed time. With a bitter smile, she looks at Mei.

“I know”

~

The war between Konohagakure and Iwagakure catches up to Kirigakure and so it catches up to her.

  
She is ten when the infiltration desk ninja throws her a mission scroll to infiltrate Konohagakure and become a sleeper agent.

Akane is dubious and annoyed.

The number of high-ranking ninja in Kiri has dwindled down. Money and finances have become tight. It’s unclear whether the lack of funds led to less high ranking nin or whether less high ranking nin led to less money. Either way, cuts and taxes are disgustingly high. A and S rank missions have tax cuts of 80%. Inflation in village has tripled over the last two years. Kiri is not involved in the war just yet, but their access to resources has dwindled, money spiraling down the drain.

Kirigakure cannot afford to issue this mission, and Akane does not want to take this mission.

Mission ranks have been incorrectly filed. C ranks are A ranks while S ranks are disguised as B’s. Rank A and Rank S missions miss essential information, leading to dead Kiri shinobi.

If she is caught and interrogated, Konoha would learn of Kiri’s blatant mis-step.

Akane’s village cannot afford the repercussions of this mission, so why would they give her this mission?

She accepts, because in the end, what choice does she actually have?

In a week, she hones her new identity.

Her long hair is cut short. She chooses to not cover up her distinctive purple marks with makeup. Rather than risk suspicion, she leaves the marks be. It's a good thing that she covered her marks on all her other missions.

~

Akane Yamashita departs Water Country. Rin Nohara enters Fire Country a day later.

~

When the merchant cavern traveling to Konohoa was attacked by ruthless bandits, Rin is the only survivor. (She knows she's the only survivor since Akane made sure to kill the traveling Konoha family. Purposefully inflicting herself with reasonable wounds--bleeding out alarmingly when the Konoha chunin were approaching) And wasn’t that a coincidence? And wasn't she so so lucky to have a Konoha chunin to save her and bring her back to Konoha?

And when Rin learns her parents are dead in the cavern, she cries inconsolably.

As an orphan with Konoha parents, she is granted a spot in the orphanage.

The male chunin is not subtle, urging an eight-year-old Rin Nohara to sign her life away to Ninja Academy. Konoha needs the civilian fodder, and Akane Yamashita wants to laugh at his piss poor attempt to sound convincing.

~

Rin Nohara enters the Ninja Academy to protect and save lives -- to defend and heal those unable to protect themselves. Torn apart from the horrors of war, she is distinguishingly idealistic. Her motto is that she never wants to let another experience what she has.

A believer in hope, justice, and the Will of Fire, Rin is innocent, a touch too naive, and a dreamer.

Akane hates her.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?? Please tell me, I need all the love.


	4. (In which Rin Nohara becomes a fangirl)

Rin Nohara is a sweet nice girl that makes friends with other sweet nice girls.

_Duh._

Naturally, this means she is all bright eyes and soft giggles in kunoichi class.

In Kiri, if any female couldn't keep up with hardcore missions (and most missions were hardcore), then they will be delegated to seduction. If you couldn't fight bitches and make money, then you were going to fuck bitches and make money.

Rin guesses it's a similar system in Konoha.

All the female ninjas were required to take kunoichi classes. She guesses it's a way for Konoha to sort out which girls show promise for the seedier missions. There was no way clans would allow their girls running around willy nilly. No, these kunoichi classes were targeted towards the clanless girls. Girls who didn't have the techniques and protection of a clan. Clanless girls that were physically weak, rarely won spars, and showed promised in kunoichi class were going to face a very unhappy surprise during graduation. Well, let's just say that Rin Nohara has no intention to lie on her back for Konoha.

No, thank you.

After learning the darker trade of whores and geisha, Rin finds Konoha's idea of kunoichi class rather disarming. On the first day of kunoichi class, Suzume-sensei, stands in front of the class commandingly. Grey hair bunched in a severe bun, her eyes flinty, commanding attention.

"Kunoichi classes are not given to boys because the subtleties and nuances of these lessons wasted on them. To be a kunoichi means to possess many skills. A kunoichi needs to be well-rounded, capable of transitioning from a lady to a fighter. _That_ is what it means to be a kunoichi."

Transfixed, the class watches as Suzume sensei lauds the dignity and honor of kunoichi.

Rin…Rin is not impressed.

Suzume paints an unrealistic rosy picture of what it means to be a kunoichi. When a kunoichi is on an infiltration mission, she's probably not going to be making flower arrangements and stitching embroidery—she's going to be seducing someone for information. It's not glorious as Suzume describes. It's disgusting and degrading.

For all that Konoha is strong, they are weak. They hide under a veneer of pleasantry, shying away from the truth. Whatever, it's not Rin's problem.She keeps her head down during these classes, content to listen to her fellow kunoichi and their raging rampant gossip.

~

"He's sooooo cute," an Inuzuka bemoans, "but he covers his face up with that stupid mask."

"Really?" someone asks, "I heard he had some type of facial disfiguration."

Miki chimes in with certainly, "No, no no. I heard from my father, who is a _chunin_ , that he got injured in the exams. But before that he was really handsome."

Rin internally snorts. Miki emphasizes the word chunin like it means something special. With the war raging on, the Village was giving field promotions left and right to anyone with two brain cells. In Konoha, true power wasn't dictated by rank. It's dictated by the clans and those with bloodlines. The dojutsu users. It's one the reasons why Kiri hasn't declared war on Konoha.

One of the dojutsu users, a Hyuuga, scoffs out loud. Trademark pale eyes narrow in disdain, "Hmn. Minato Namikaze is handsome. Hayate is just a boy."

The Inuzuka girl shouts enraged, "What do you mean? Kakashi-kun is super cool! He graduated he was five and made chunin a year after. Everyone says he's a once in a generation ninja!"

Rin looks up from her needlework, interested in this so called once in a generation ninja. She asks carefully, "Who is Kakashi-kun's father? He must have really strong parents."

At this, the Hyuuga snickers and the Inuzuka reddens.

"Yes," the Hyuuga girl maliciously says, "he has a strong father. Even from a civilian family, you probably heard of Sakumo Hatake, the legendary White Fang. His ANBU team is the reason why we got dragged into this war."

"That's not really his fault," the Inuzuka weakly protests.

"He chose his teammates over completing the mission," the other girl snaps back. "He chose to save a few people and doomed the rest of Konoha in the process. _It is his fault."_

"Mission first," someone mummers.

The Hyuuga nods in smug superiority, "Indeed. The mission always comes first."

Rin looks at the Hyuuga girl, curious. "How was the White Fang punished?"

Hyuuga's sneers in disdain. "As if he was punished. The Sandaime and Council put him on probation. Hatake was a real coward to the end. Rather than wait out his suspension and serve in the war he started, Hatake decided to kill himself."

Rin's mouth drops in shock.

Seriously, how lucky was this guy? In Kiri, this Hatake would have been executed with his head left on a spike as a warning. This Hatake had so many options. He could have run away and became a missing-nin. He could have waited out his suspension before resuming missions. No, none of these reasonable choices. Instead, he chose to kill himself.

 _What an idiot._ Of course, a nice girl like Rin would never say something like that out loud.

"How sad," she murmurs.

"He was a weak man" the Hyuuga evenly states.

With these demeaning words, classroom atomsphere darkened. Conversations died down, each girl uncomfortable with the reminder of the ongoing war.

Inuzuka, refusing to let up her admiration for the younger Hatake, chooses to breaks the ice.

"Yeah, well, Kakashi-kun isn't his father. He's Minato Namikaze's apprentice! That means he's super smart and attractive," she blusters.

"No," Hyuuga argues, "that just means Namikaze is generous to take Hatake as his apprentice."

Inuzuka is furious, two seconds from jumping Hyuuga and ripping off her face. Given the smug look Hyuuga has, she knows it too. "Why you-!" Inuzuka yell.

"Nuh uh! Let's not go there." Miki interjects cheerfully, "let's just say that Minato and Kakashi-kun sound like a great team. What's most important is that we still haven't decided who is hotter." Miki turns to address the entire class, "Topic of the day! Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake, who is hotter?!"

The room breaks out in giggles.

When the classroom begins to fill with chatter on the merits of Namikaze and Hatake, Miki turns back in her seat, deeply satisfied.

For the next hour, Rin gets to listen to her classmates analyze Namikaze and Hatake's skills. Apparently, it's quite impressive that Hatake became a genin at five. All the girls oohs and aahhs over this achievement.

Perhaps it's petty, but Akane finds satisfaction knowing she became a genin when she was four. She's _better_ than this Konoha boy, even if Hatake did make chunin earlier than her.

Rin mentally notes the more relevant knowledge that the girls were exchanging. She loves listening to the gossip and information freely spreading around. Kami above, she loves fangirls. They're now her favorite source of information. IN the future, she'll be definitely hitting this untapped resource. They're droves of information, especially well-connected clan children. With just a little filtering, Rin now knows shinobi stats. His fighting style, signature moves, element, appearance, supposed weaknesses, shinobi connections, and training regime. _It's information gold_. It's a infiltration shinobi's wet dream. Rin's taking her information and laughing all the way to the bank. Who needs a torture and investigation unit when you have fangirls willingly spilling their adoring guts out. 

At the end of the class, no one can seem to come to a consensus. The attractiveness of Hatake and Namikaze is still up in the air. By mutual agreement, the girls agree more information is necessarily to make an adequate decision. 

Hence, everyone will be following and observing Hatake and Namikaze the next few days. The two typically spar in training ground fifteen. Inuzuka asks if Rin wants to go stalking after kunoichi class.

Eyes bright and mouth giggling, Rin says yes.

(After all, it's always good to scope out the competition)

~

Rin learns that while an ideal cover, acting as a fangirl is incredibly demanding. It hurts her pride as an infiltration ninja. She's never blatantly spied like this before. For goodness sake, the target can see her standing right there. This also hurts her pride as a female shinobi. This is why they get a rep for being bad ninja.

Still, acting as a fangirl is the ideal cover. It's so ridiculously easy. Konoha has a strange history, and their culture reflects their weirdness. Nowhere else in the five countries does "fangirls" have such free reign over information gathering. As a female shinobi, there's no punishment in stalking a fellow ninja. It's chalked as an indicator of popularity, an indicator of strength. Powerful shinobi tended to attract more fangirls. Luckily for Rin, powerful shinobi were the sort of shinobi Jonin Akane Yamashita needs to keep track of, 

Akane resigns herself to a future of stalking Konoha shinobi in the future. She hopes it's not Hatake, he's not exactly an inspiring ninja.

She thought Inuzuka was joking, but the boy really does wear a black mask to cover his nose and mouth. His shock of fluffy silver hair certainly makes him stand stand. Still, the boy doesn't look like much. He's small, short for a supposed prodigy.

The boy in question is scowling, cheeks flushed at the crowd of fangirls. 

"Sensei," he calls out, "can we go to a private training field?"

"Now now," Namikaze grins, "All the private training fields are booked today. Would you rather train now or wait for tomorrow?"

Hatake grumbles in unhappiness, but resumes his fighting stance. The blonde haired jonin turns to wink at the girls, and Rin obligatory _kyaas_ in synch with her fellow kunoichi.

As the two begin to spar, Rin watches closely. Kakashi Hatake is good, quite good for his age. Give a few years, and he's going to be a dangerous enemy. Rin sighs dreamily. 

.

.

_How irritating._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes: The reality is that Rin Nohara is Kakashi's fangirl because she is gathering intel on him. MUHAHAHAHA.


	5. (In which a girl meets a boy)

* * *

“You seem contemplative.” 

Rin looks up from the dried plums, startled by the words. Her thoughtful face turns sheepish at the seller’s raised eyebrow. 

“My apologies,” she says, blushing slightly. “I haven’t seen dried plums like these in quite some time. They remind me of my grandmother. She used to eat them all the time in the countryside.” 

The fruit vendor, a crotchety old man, noticeably tenses. The code words were said and it’s his turn to reply. 

“Oh?” he asks, folding his arms, “Got them from a local farmer named Yui, says they go well steeped in tea.” 

Rin tilts her head, uses her left hand to tug on her left earlobe. “Yes, sticky plums are especially nice.”

“Hmn. I got enough for two months if you want them all.”

_(I got two assignments for you)_

“Just one is fine” she says sweetly, “there’s no rush.” 

As the old man bags and hands her the dried plums, Rin hands over the Ryo bills. Stuck in between the money is a coded message. 

“I’ll be here until the end of the week,” the old man says, “in case if you want any more.” 

_(Come pick up your assignment at the end of the week)_

She ducks her head, bowing slightly, “Thank you very much!” 

The man dips his head in acknowledgement before turning to help the next customer. Rin continues to browse the street vendors and markets, picking up some cheap fruits and vegetables for next week's dinner. You never know who’s watching the markets. It makes little sense if Rin only buys plums and returns for food the next day. 

When she gets back to her rubble-down apartment, she puts the kettle on. If she wants a reason to go back to the fruit vendor, she’s going to have to start eating these plums quickly. 

~

For some reason, Kunoichi class begins in the summer while regular Academy classes begin in the Autumn. 

In Kirigakure, the Academy consisted of grey concrete buildings, hard-faced shinobi, and the vast open water. More often than not, their classes were held on water, emphasizing practical skills. Their first class consisted of getting thrown in the large body of water and instructed to “not drown.” Needless to say, students quickly learned how to water-walk. Those who couldn't....disappeared. Comparatively, Konoha’s education consisted of sitting down, taking notes, and passing tests.

Built squarely in front of the Hokage mountain, it was clear that any student on their way or entering the Academy would be reminded just who the top brass was. Three chiseled faces etched in stone, they towered over the red and orange Academy, instilling a sense of greatness. 

The word "fire" was emblazoned in the center of the main building. The bright orange and red juxtaposed against the brown mountain and surrounding white buildings. In many ways, this building was a great symbol of unity for Konoha. Tobirama, the second hokage, had built and planned the education for future ninjas. Prior to the Academy’s construction, most clans trained their own children. When they were deemed worthy within the clan, the Konoha administration tested the children and assigned them the rank of Genin. With the construction of the Academy, the training of Konoha-in centralized, ensuring that all of Konoha's ninja had shared educational experiences. 

As all future-nin were required to attend the same classes and receive the same training in the Academy, children from civilian families also have the opportunity to learn the elusive and protected ninja arts. 

The Academy was touted as the greater of Konoha’s future pillars. At least, that’s what Hokage's propaganda speech suggests: 

“...And so you are the future of Konoha. You will serve us all proudly. The flames of Our Will of Fire shall never extinguish!” 

Rin claps enthusiastically with the rest of the audience. 

As the hokage takes his leave, the chunin instructors begin calling out names. Along with several other students, Rin follows her assigned instructor to the classroom. 

Settling into a seat in the very back of the class, Rin watched the classroom fill up with students. She’s careful to not flinch when a student chooses to sit behind her. It’s hard for a ninja to leave their back exposed and vulnerable. Still, it’s a mark of a cautious experienced ninja to chose the back row. For all intents and purposes, Rin can’t sit in the back row and draw attention to herself. Hence, she sits in the second last row, one seat away from the window. 

Rin brings out a notebook and matching purple pen, placing both on her desk. When the class settled, their instructor introduced himself as Sato-sensei before delving into the schedule and syllabus for the rest of the year. As the school was enacting wartime policies, the class was slated to graduate in two years. A rigorous fast-past schedule lied ahead, one where they were expected to attend class six days a week.

“The reality,” Sato-sensei explains, “ is that all of you will graduate. We simply need the manpower. We need all the abled-bodies possible to fill out the ranks. These next two years are for you to learn and train for the best of your abilities. After your graduation, you will be assigned to the genin-corps or paced on a jonin-team.” At this he looks at them gravely, “One of them entails greater training opportunities and a higher chances of promotion. Where you end up after graduation will follow you for the rest of your career. You can work hard and climb the ranks or you can get pigeonholed. How your future looks rests to you.” 

In many ways, this was a much more inspiring speech for Rin. Things like the Will of Fire and bonds of loyalty were too abstract, too intangible. For an orphan like Rin, money and status were much more incentivizing. She appreciated Sato-sensei’s blatant honesty, his unsubtle push to encourage student excellence. Very bluntly, their sensei is stating that slackers are signing their own death warrants. 

The top students would get jonin-instructors, rhat much was clear. But what was the cut off? The top ten percent? Top five?

Rin assesses her classmates. The smarter ones, the ones that understand what Sato-sensei is saying, squirm in their seats to glance around. 

This was the starting line. This was their arena. Akane, for one, is quite used to her classmates being the enemy. 

As Sato-sensei starts coughing to regain student attention, the classroom door slams open. 

“Ahahaha, I’m sorry! I got lost on the way here!”

Rin looks to see the source of noise. It’s a boy with dark hair and dark eyes dressed in a ridiculously blue outfit with bright orange goggles. The boy must have balls of steel, barging into class half an hour late with absolutely no shame. 

Sato-sensei doesn’t berate the new arrival, he simply sighs, gesturing to the new student like he's the perfect example of what a slacker looks like. With a tardy arrival and an unprofessional appearance, the boy seems destined for the genin-corps. 

“Name?” Sato-sensei prompts. 

“Uh, Obito. Uchiha Obito.” 

“Take these textbooks and go sit in that empty space at the back,” Sato-sensei says. 

With his lips furrowed in concentration, the Uchiha boy grabs the books and plops down in the empty seat right next to Rin. A few minutes into the class, the poor boy look utterly confused. Rin reaches out and pokes him in the side.

The Uchiha jumps slightly in his seat. 

“Sorry,” Rin says sweetly. She points to her textbook, “we’re on page three, right now. We just finished talking about the first hokage and we’re moving on to discuss the second.”

The boy rubs the back of his neck. “Oh...ok, thanks.” 

At his garbled thanks, Rin gives him a small smile. Obito blushes furiously and Rin giggles at the sight. 

What a soft-hearted Uchiha. 

~

Rin keeps her concentration on the blackboard, eyes glazing over at Sato-sensei’s long winded lecture. She’s an infiltration ninja. She is used to listening. It’s her job to listen, gather information, and take notes. She’s no stranger to long stake-outs and even longer mission debriefings. Yet, somehow listening to a pointless lecture on Konoha values and mission rules seem to push her patience to it's absolute limits.

Biting her teeth so hard, her jaw flexes. The pencil in her hand snaps in half. 

Damnit. She’s not cut out for Konoha’s style of education. Give her a weapons schematic, a bloody spar, and a kunai any day, thanks. 

The Uchiha doesn’t seem to be doing any better. The boy was eagerly listening for all of twenty minutes before collapsing into his seat. Sato-sensei doesn’t say anything, just sneers at the sight of the fan on Uchiha’s back.

Sato-sensei has everyone copy down the mission rules from the blackboard. 

After a review on Konoha mission rules, Sato-sensei begins writing out the theory of throwing kunai: 

_At what angle to throw the kunai...If one kunai is thrown at x degree, and another kunai thrown at y degree… When throwing a kunai upward, gravity acts..._

(Akane wants to cry. They should be throwing kunai, not solving math problems. What kind of education is Konoha giving their ninja?)

.  
.  
.

Rin takes diligent notes. 

~

When the bell rings signaling the end of the class, Rin packs up her bag and organizes her notes. It’s been a long day of nothing but theory, and Rin wants to move to something practical. 

Once they start learning katas, throwing kunai, and practicing ninjutsu, Rin can hit the training grounds. As of right now, as a civilian just starting to attend the Academy, Rin lacks any real ninja skills. The only thing that looms ahead tonight and the future it theory. 

Sato-sensei is still organizing his lecture notes in the front of class when Rin walks up to him. 

“Yes?” he asks, peering down at her. 

“Hello Sato-sensei,” Rin greets, “Thank you for class today. I’m just wondering if you have any tips or books I can read for my free time.” She bites her lip. “I’m an orphan and a first generation ninja, so I'm concerned about falling behind.” 

Sato-sensei frowns. “Those are quite unfortunate circumstances. Indeed, it’s quite unfortunate there are so little resources avilable for civilian-born shinobi. I’m afraid I can’t give you any materials in advance, though. You don't have any of the basics down yet, and it would be quite unfair to the rest of the students if I give you class work ahead of time.” 

Rin visibly wilts. She’s going to drown in theory hell the next few days. 

“But if you’re willing," Sato-sensei says slowly, "the hospital offers extra medic nin training.” 

“That would be great!” Rin exclaims, beaming up at him. 

“It’s good to see student initiative,” Sato-sensei comments, smiling at his eager pupil. He scrawls off a note on a sheet of paper before handing it back to Rin. “Let them know I recommended you, and they’ll try and squeeze you into a class.” 

“Thank you so much, sensei!” 

Rin grabs her recommendation note bouncing with anticipation and excitement. Real medic-nin lessons are hard to come by. Since the Slug Princess restructured Konoha’s hospital, Konoha is the leading village in medical care. Kiri-nin tends to think healing is weak. There's no point in learning to heal when you can just learn how to kill faster and dodge better. 

Truly, these medic-nin classes are an incredible opportunity for Rin to pick-up something practical in Konoha. 

When she exits the classroom door, a nervous cough draws Rin from her daydream. She turns to the noise, blinking in surprise at the boy in the hallway. It’s the Uchiha boy in all his obnoxiously dressed glory. Luckily, the neon orange goggles aren’t covering his eyes. Instead, they’re bunched on the top of his head, leaving his black eyes free of obscuration. His stance is poor, shoulders hunched over, and leg twisting on the floor. Rin doesn’t understand what he wants, but she guesses he was trying to get her attention. 

“Hi” Rin greets. When the boy doesn’t say anything, she shrugs and tries to walk away.

“Wait!” the boy shouts. 

She turns.

“Did you need something?” 

“Thanks for earlier, today. Ugh, my-my name is Uchiha Obito!” blurts out of the boy's mouth. 

“...um, yes. I know”

“You do?” he blusters, “You’ve heard of me?”

Rin stares at him. He was the only student to barge in half an hour late to class. He was a complete spectacle, one that shouted out his name and infamous clan name before flopping in the seat next to her. How could she not know his name? 

“You told us your name in class,” she points out. 

The boy’s puffed out chest deflates. “Oh, yeah.” 

Rin offers him a smile, “Well, my name is Rin Nohara, and i’s nice to meet you, Uchiha-san.” 

The Uchiha nods eagerly. 

“Uh, would you like to walk home with me?”

“Walk home?” she repeats, lost. The clans and civilian children tend to live on opposite sides of the village. 

“I mean, I want to walk you home,” the boy says, “it's dangerous for a girl to walk alone."

Rin is so terribly lost. Is this some misguided sense of male heroism? Probably not, because he looks weak. She could take him. That being said, it’s not a bad idea to get close to a potential dojutsu user. Maybe she could ferret out some clan secrets. 

“Okay,” she agrees, “follow me.” 

The two of them head out the school eagerly.   
  
  


  
  
  
  



	6. (in which fishes are dead boys)

Since the first day of academy, the Uchiha makes it a habit to talk to her every day. Rin willingly listens to the Uchiha, allowing his jabber to wash over her. She doesn’t understand why he’s going to such lengths to maintain contact. There’s nothing remarkable about Rin to capture his attention above their classmates. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t make her disdain obvious. 

On the fourth day of finding the Uchiha waiting for her after class, Rin has to tell him to go home first.

“Eh, why?”

“I’m taking medic-nin classes at the hospital. My dream is to be like Tsunade-sama one day,” Rin slowly says, trying to scramble a reasonable cover story. 

“That sounds awesome!” he exclaims, “I’ll train super hard too. One day when I’m Hokage, I’ll make you the head of the hospital.” 

Rin swallows her laughter. Since the first day of class, it’s obvious that the Uchiha is not the sort for diplomacy or paperwork. He lacks patience and is easily prone to outbursts. He's an untrained child, through and through. His homework is consistently a crumpled mess, reflecting his lack of discipline. Their class review on Konoha mission rules left the boy scrambling to recall half of them. They haven’t started spars or projectiles yet, so the boy could excell there, but it seems unlikely in his current physical state. 

If a hopeless student like him became Hokage, Kiri would trample all over Konoha. 

“That sounds like a wonderful goal,” Rin says, encouragement filling her voice as she smiles at the boy. She leans forward to clasp both of his shoulders. “I’ll be waiting for your appointment as Hokage.” 

“You--you believe in me?” the boy asks, eyes wide. “You aren’t going to make fun of me? Tell me that I’m stupid and someone like me willl never become Hokage?” 

“Anything can happen, Uchiha-san,” Rin comments blithely. “Everyone said the first hokage’s dream of creating Konoha was foolish, but he was able to do it anyway. Why can’t you achieve your dream?” 

The boy is quiet so Rin waits patiently for his reply. Despite his lack of discipline and training, she does believe what she says. 

They live fast and hard lives, fighting against the odds, and sometimes that means the underdog wins. Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, was a terrible student all throughout the Academy and he became a legendary S-ranked ninja. People who graduate the top of the class don't necessarily any longer than the rest of them. Miracle ninja are made all of the time, why can’t it be Obito Uchiha? That being said, the current Uchiha Obito is nowhere close to passing as genin, let alone Hokage.

After a moment, the Uchiha looks up at her, eyes red. “Do you really believe in me?”

“Yes,” Rin nods, her voice hard. She leans forward, spilling her honest truth, the only thing she holds onto. “In terrible moments, dark moments, ninjas are capable of reaching beyond their wildest dreams. Becoming Hokage is going to be difficult and challenging, bu with enough luck and hard work, you can do anything you set your mind to” 

Listening to her words, he launches forward. Rin braces herself for impact, hoping he’s not trying to pick a fight. Instead, she feels his arms around her waist. 

Oh. He’s hugging her. 

Tentatively, Rin reaches around him and applies equal force back. She’s not sure how long hugs last so she holds onto him. 

“Thank you,” he says, voice thick with emotion.

~

When Rin steps into heavy doors into the hospital, she’s taken aback by the sheer number of people loitering in the main lobby. From old to young, there’s a good mix of skill and age of people waiting around. 

A rather heavy-set nurse seems to be holding court with a line waiting to see her. Rin guesses this is where she signs-up. When Rin moves to the front of the line, the nurse reaches out to hand her a clipboard. When Rin moves to grab the clipboard, the nurse jerks it away. 

“Where’s your hitate?” 

Rin frowns. “I’m still in the Academy. I’ll get my hitate in two years.” 

The nurse snorts and waves her off. “Next,” she calls. 

“Ah, please wait. I have a recommendation from my teacher,” Rin declares, pushing the signed paper from Sato-sensei towards the nurse. The heavy woman frowns. Eyes flickering from the paper and toward Rin, the nurse lets out a grunt and let's Rin have the clipboard. 

Rin breathes out in relief. 

Filling out the clipboard is challenging. Rin can’t fill out most of the blanks. She hasn’t received her ninja number yet. She has no official rank as an Academy student. She has little to no knowledge on human anatomy. She has no idea how good her chakra control is. 

She tries her best to fill-out the information sheet and returns it to the front desk. 

A medic-nin, evident by his complete white attire, steps into the lobby. “Welcome to the medic-nin training program. Most of you are here because you want to pick-up new skills. While commendable, the unfortunate reality is that medical training demands excellent chakra control. With our numbers strained as is, we don’t have the time or trainers top waste. Before we begin classes, we require all our trainees to pass a simple test.” At this, the medic-nin reaches into the metal bowl at his feet, pulling out a flailing fish. 

“We call this the fish test. To pass, use your chakra to keep the fish alive out of the water. The first thirty people to demonstrate this will become medic-nin trainees” 

Rin grimaces, apprehensive at the idea of keeping a stupid fish alive. 

~

Her first attempt resulted in an explosion of guts. Red and bile splattered across the table, leaving an odorous stench behind. 

Now, she’s crouched in the middle of the bowl, cradling the fish gently in between her hands. 

Her brow is covered in sweat. Her hands flood with green light, and she pushes the chakra gently into the fish’s system. It’s been tricky, measuring how much chakra is necessary for the system. Earlier, she made the mistake of shoving as much chakra as she could into the fish and that led to a disgusting mess. Now that she has some rough idea of how much chakra a fish needs, she fills the body cavity accordingly. 

The fish is an ugly, scraggly thing. It’s mouth gulps, gasping for water it can’t find. It’s a fish out of the sea, flopping uselessly around on land. 

Rather unpleasantly, the fish reminds her of herself. They are both forged in the sea and taken away to a strange forested land. 

The fish’s glassy eye digs into her. _Save me_ , it screams, _save me save me save me._

She’s never had to keep something alive before, all she’s ever learned is how to kill. 

Rin guides the oxygen through the fish’s body. 

.

She thinks of the Yuki boy, the first person she's ever killed. The boy’s body imposes onto the fish’s body. They flail and flop the same way. They both gape with their mouths open in silent screams. Yuki had been the top of the class, the perfect clan student armed with a kekkei genkai and deadly senbon. It was her, the nobody, that got the jump on him and stabbed him over and over until.

She remembers his eyes, enraged and burning before they faded to nothing

.

Glass eyes and gaping mouths. 

A thrashing boy and a thrashing fish. 

.

Hissing under her breath, she pushes those memories away. 

.

Self discipline. Control.

Concentrating on her chakra, Rin maintains the steady flow of oxygen through the body. Time passes, the minutes pass and while the fish flails, slimy and slippery in her hands, it remains alive. 

She’s not the first person in the large room to succeed, but she’s far from being the last one.

“Very nice, Nohara-san” Iyashi praises. He sorts through the paperwork and finds her application. “Yes, quite promising indeed. Head to the admin center to get your credentials. I’ll see you in class on Thursday.” 

Rin looks at Iyashi, who looks at her fondly like she has talent, has promise, and she feels--she feels _acknowledged._ She’s never been so blatantly praised for her abilities before. 

A tad too sharp and bloodthirsty, she juts her chin out in pride. Iyashi’s brows lift in surprise for a brief moment before smiling. 

~

When she exits the hospital, the Uchiha steps out from the road. 

Rin dreads his appearance, the appearance of a boy who can’t seem to leave her alone. If the fish was the Yuki boy, then the Uchiha was the boy who gets killed off first. 

This boy, this kind and weak boy is exactly the same type of boy that dies quickly and without notice. He yearns for approval, thirst to succeed, but little skill to actually achieve. _Useless._

“What are you doing here?” she demands, “I thought I told you to go home.” 

Obito’s excited face falls at her harsh tone. 

“Oh, I just wanted to see how your class went. I heard the medic-nin test is really difficult“

Soft, such a terribly pitiful boy. Boys like him died in Kiri long before earning a hitate. Boys like him were found floating face down in ditchwater. 

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to come,” she says softly. 

“We’re friends, aren’t we? That’s what friends do for each other,” the Uchiha says this so matter-of-factly, so self-assured. Rin is helpless in his open and earnest face, one practically pleading for her to agree that they are friends. 

She doesn’t have friends. Akane doesn’t have friends. 

Rin closes her eyes and turns away. 

Rin should have friends, she would be the type of girl to make friends with a weak and soft boy. 

_I'm sorry,_ she thinks, because he’s going to learn the hard way that she is not his friend but the monster hiding under his bead. _I’m so sorry._

~

It’s Sunday, and she’s back in the marketplace. 

The old man with the dried plums nod at her, tugging his left earlobe with his left hand. “Just couldn’t get enough, huh?” 

Rin moves toward him, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. “They were deliciously sticky. I’m here for another bag before you leave.” 

“Of course, of course.” 

He hands her the plums in a small canvas satchel, and she hands him a few notes of ryo. Rin has never asked or looked into her messengers before. She wonders if Kiri-nin are actual merchant vendors or simply coerced into working for Kirigakure. 

In her apartment, she opens the small canvas satchel to find dried plums and a small scrap of paper. It’s coded. She works through the cipher. 

_Jonin-team._ it says simply. 

Rin understands. The genin-corp gets relegated to running supplies and messages across the frontlines. With an infiltration mission so heavily backed like hers, a higher bang for buck was much more desirable. She wonders what her final assignment will be. Would it be to kill her jounin instructor? Maybe she'll have to kill her whole team. Her mission could center around intelligence, to funnel as many top-secrets possible before tailing it back home. She doesn't know. 

In the end, all she can do is wait. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: What do you think Rin's end-goal mission should be? Should it be to steal the Sharingan, kill her teammates, infiltrate Konoha's upper ranks.......because I'm still trying to figure it out. ^^
> 
> I hope Obito's characterization is on point so far. He likes Rin. Rin, obvious squash, doesn't know what innocent crushes look like. Rin's taken off guard by how sweet Obito is. Hopefully next few chapters we go through how Obito melts poor Rin's ice cold heart.


End file.
